Influencing Erina
by The Faded Guardian
Summary: Erina is a micronation on the Russia/China border and knows nothing outside of what she has been taught. better summary inside. this might help w/ understanding the OC: http://the-faded-guardian./art/I-MADE-THIS-UP-LOL-129802637
1. First Conference

**Faded: mk. so this is my first APH story. couldn't come up with a decent yaoi idea so i went with this. (plus it was just _begging_ to be written.) so here goes nothing! hope you enjoy!**

**Riane: TFG does not own any APH related thingies. she only owns her made up nation, Erina.**

**_Summary: As a micronation/colony in the Russia/China border under China's rule, Erina knows nothing of the outside world except for what China has taught her. Finally deciding that she needs to know more of the outside world, China takes her to her first world conference while at the same time hoping that no other countries will try to influence her into breaking away from him._**

* * *

Influencing Erina

"Ehh? But, but…_gē ge*_…" Erina tugged at the formal Chinese dress her brother had made her wear. "Why can't I wear mine, aru?"

China sighed and shook his head at his naïve younger sister. "Aiyah…haven't we been through this already, aru? It's so that the other countries will not try and influence you in a bad way. You don't need to be westernized, aru."

"Da…But papa seems to think its fine!" Erina pouted slightly and crossed her arms.

China's expression turned to stone. "What Russia says is nonsense, aru. You don't want another country to take you from _gē ge_ do you?"

Erina shook her head furiously and clung tightly to her brother's arm. Even though she had a certain amount of freedom, Erina still technically belonged to China. Never once had she had a thought of breaking away from her brother to be her own self-governing nation. And despite being a little over four hundred years old, Erina still had the appearance of a ten year old. She looked so young because she had never expanded or grown in anyway, and she was already a small country to begin with. Also, she was cut off from every country save for Russia and China. Her history was relatively bloodless, mainly because the only major battle on her land had been between Russia and China during the territory dispute. However, after that was over, China had protected his sister fiercely from outsiders.

***

"_Why did you have to fight with papa, da? Why couldn't you share?"_

_A sigh and then, "It's hard to explain, aru. There are some things that can't be shared."_

"_Then…am I not allowed to be shared, aru?"_

"_Not exactly…I just want to protect my _xiǎo mèi** _from certain things. Do you understand, aru?"_

"_I…think so, da. _Dàn shi***_… does that mean I can't see papa anymore?"_

"_You can still see Russia, aru. Just…not as often."_

***

"So what is this for again, aru?" Erina looked up at her brother as they approached a building that was a bit imposing to the young colony.

"It's something to try and solve problems between the other countries, aru." China paused then added, "But most of the time nothing gets done."

Erina nodded absently and walked with her brother toward the building. Once inside, she could hear the chattering of the other countries. She stopped suddenly and just stared at the door. "_Gē ge_, I...I don't want to go in, da."

China turned and looked at the little colony quizzically. Ever since he had told Erina that he planned on taking her to a world conference, she had talked about the event nonstop, as if someone had announced that they would be selling mooncakes**** all year long. "I thought you were excited, aru." He held out his hand to her and said, "You can sit next to _gē ge_ during the meeting, ok?"

Erina nodded and took his hand. "Is…is papa going to be here too?" she asked tentatively. China only nodded in response and walked her into the meeting room.

As usual, everything was chaotic. China hoped that no one would notice Erina's presence during the meeting. However, much to his dismay, the young colony had noticed her "papa" and was running over to greet him.

"Papa!" Erina pounced on Russia's tall form. She had no fear of him, mainly because she had never learned what he was capable of, and she more than likely wouldn't believe it if someone told her. _("Papa's so nice! He brings me presents when he visits me sometimes!")_ Russia and his ever present smile looked down at Erina. "Ahaha…hello Erina." Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania looked at Erina with a mixture of shock and awe. Didn't the girl know what she was doing?! The three Baltic nations were thrown into even more confusion when the girl was handed a sunflower before she skipped off.

"_Gē ge_! _Gē ge_! Look what papa gave me, aru!" Erina smiled and showed the flower to her brother.

China shook his head. "Aiyah…another one, aru? Doesn't he know you already have enough?" Erina only giggled and held onto the flower tightly. True, she _did_ have a rather impressive collection of sunflowers from Russia, but she was always glad to receive a new one to replace one that had died.

Latvia walked up to China and said, "Do you know that girl?"

China scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Ah…yes. She's a colony of mine, aru."

"Ehh? But, but, surely you've told her about how Russia can be, right?" Latvia looked at China with wide eyes.

"Well…not exactly. Erina doesn't know him the way that anyone else does, aru." China gave a nervous smile and said, "She only knows that he is kind to her, aru."

Latvia was stunned. Russia? Kind to someone? "I…I see."

Erina tugged her brother's sleeve lightly to get his attention. "Hmm? What is it, aru?"

"Is the meeting going to start soon, da?" she asked, stroking the petals of the sunflower in her hands.

China sighed and smiled a bit. "Hopefully."

About fifteen minutes later, the meeting finally started with America charging in and taking over. "Alright everyone! The hero has arrived! Let's get this party started!" Erina stared blankly at the blond-haired American, a bit mesmerized by the way he acted. Despite the pre-meeting chaos, she had yet to see anyone act so rashly. She leaned up toward her brother and asked quietly, "Is this 'hero' person always this loud and rash, aru?"

China chuckled and mussed Erina's hair slightly. "Yes…but just so you know what to call him in the future, the one that's talking right now is America, aru."

"A-mer-i-ca?" Erina asked, trying out the foreign word and how it sounded on her tongue.

China couldn't help but smile at her. "Very good, aru," he complimented, patting her head.

Erina blushed at the compliment and went back to drawing on the paper in front of her. It had originally been an outline of what the meeting was supposed to go over, but she made no sense of it and decided it would be better as drawing paper. Her pencil bobbed around on the paper drawing anything from bamboo stalks to the faces of the countries sitting at the table. She smiled to herself pleased with her work. She was just about to show off her pictures to her brother when she found herself being shepherded out of the meeting room by him. "Ehh? _Gē ge_ why did we leave? Isn't the meeting still going on, da?"

"_Shí*****_…but, I don't want you in there right now, aru." China bit his lip and told her, "Will you stay out here until I come back to get you, aru?" Erina pouted, but nodded nonetheless. She knew he wouldn't leave her alone for too long. "Good. Remember, _xiǎo mèi_, don't talk to anyone who might come outside, ok?" Erina nodded again and watched her brother walk back into the meeting.

***

"_Ehh… _gē ge_, why am I not allowed to go out by myself, aru?"_

"_Be—because I don't want anything to happen to you, aru. There are many countries that will try to influence you and try to take you away from _gē ge_. So make sure that you're always with either me or…if you absolutely want to go out and I'm not around…you can go with Russia, aru."_

"_Why would they try to take me away from you, da?"_

"_Ah…it's a bit hard to explain, aru. Just promise that you'll not go out by yourself."_

"_Mmm…ok! But only because you asked, _gē ge."

***

Erina sat cross-legged outside the door of the conference room waiting to be let back in. She heard the countries talking—well…maybe _yelling_ was a better description—just inside. About ten minutes had passed since she had been brought out and things sounded as chaotic as when the meeting had started. She wondered vaguely if Mr. America was still taking charge of the meeting. She made a note to herself to ask about him later. She let herself get lost in thought, wondering about all the other countries; and of course what would be served for lunch. She was so absorbed in her thoughts, that she didn't hear the door open and, consequently due to where she was sitting, was hit in the face with the door.

"Aiyah!" she exclaimed, her hands flying to her face. She felt tears sting her eyes as the pain set in. _'Don't let them see you cry! They'll think you're weak and try and take advantage of you!'_ she thought to herself.

"Oh! Oh man…I—I'm sorry!"

Someone was apologizing to her over and over. She looked through her long fingers at the nation standing in front of her. Wait…she knew this country…wasn't his name…

"America!"

Yes, that was it. The new voice continued to speak as she continued to look up, a little speechless and caught off guard.

"Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to move out of the way? In case you've forgotten, there are other's here that want to get to lunch."

"Huh?" She watched America turn around and acknowledge another country. "Oh, sorry England." He stepped aside and allowed a frustrated dirty blond country brush past him, muttering something about America being a "bloody independence seeking prat."

America looked back down at Erina concern apparent on his features. "Um…hey…are you ok? Do you, like, not talk?"

Erina jumped slightly at being acknowledged again and replied, "Uh…I-I…talk…j-just…not w-with o-others, da…"

America gave her a confused look. "Oh…um, alright. Say, I don't think I've seen you around before. Are you a new country or something?"

Erina moved her hands away from her face and shook her head. "Not really…I'm not my own nation, aru. B-but my name's—"

"Erina!"

She looked up at the sound of her brother's voice. "Erina, it's time to eat, aru!" China was smiling at her, but it quickly faded as he saw the slowly blossoming bruise on her face. He took her hand and stood her up, examining her face. "What happened, aru?!"

"S-s-someone…accidentally hit my face with the door, aru," she mumbled, looking away from a positively befuddled looking America. China's fingers traced over the bruise lightly and he looked toward where she had been looking earlier. He caught America's gaze and shook his head; America only grinned sheepishly and shrugged.

"Well, _gē ge_ will get some ice for that after we eat, aru." She nodded and took his hand, allowing herself to be led to the cafeteria. She looked behind her once and gave America a little wave before she disappeared around the corner.

* * *

*: big brother

**: little sister

***: but...

****: in China, mooncakes are only sold at a certain time of year

*****: yes

**Faded: aiyah! lot's of notes here. but at least they're just alot of the same thing :P but whatever. did you like it? did it rock? did it suck? got some constructive criticism? let me know! all flames will be put out with some of China's tea!**

**China: eh? where'd my tea go, aru?**

**Faded: review! till next time!**


	2. Lunch, Siblings, and History

**Faded: hey again! here's the next chapter! it's the lunch break during the meeting...what trouble will our new micronation be causing?**

**Riane: trouble? what trouble? i see no trouble here...**

**Faded: well...whatever. anyways, i introduced a new (actual!) country. maybe you guys know of it? anywho...enjoy chapter 2!**

**Riane: The Faded Guardian does not own Hetalia in any way, shape, or form. if she did, she wold fill it with so much more yaoi.**

**Faded: ON WITH THE SHOW!**

* * *

When Erina and her brother arrived in the cafeteria, the micronation was overcome with a million different smells. In front of her were foods from places she had never heard over. The only foods she recognized were, of course, the Chinese and Russian cuisine. "Ahhh~! It all looks so good, aru!" Erina exclaimed, picking up a plate. "What do you recommend, _gē ge_?" She looked up at China with a smile.

"Hmm? Oh, I think you should see what you like for yourself, aru," he replied, returning her smile and helping himself to a pork bun.

"Okay!" Before he could stop her, Erina was skipping off to explore the new foods. By the time she was looking for a seat, her plate was piled high with so much food, Erina wasn't sure if she could even eat it all. She scanned the cafeteria for her brother, but saw him talking with a couple of others. Being the polite younger sister she was taught to be, she thought to herself, _'I should see if there's someone else to sit with, da.'_ She nodded to herself and looked around once again and this time her eye landed on the only other nation she actually knew that wasn't Russia or China. "Georgia!" she called, waving at the other girl frantically.

***

_Erina triple-checked to make sure no one was around before slipping out the back door of the house she shared with her brother. She was confident that she would be back before _gē ge_ even noticed. She wandered down the streets past papa's house and turned a corner. Her eyes darted around looking for any sign that someone was around; then, she noticed a small house ahead of her. "Ah…at least I'm not alone, aru," she said to herself._

_She was about to head back home when she heard someone call out. "Um…excuse me!"_

_Erina whipped around, popping her neck in the process. "Y-y-yes?" she stammered. She had tried to keep away from other nations, especially because of her brother's warnings._

"_Hey…you ok?" The other girl was taller than Erina and had brown hair and violet eyes. "You look like you're lost."_

"_Ah…um…" Erina looked around and realized that she was lost; not that she was about to say that out loud… "_Duí bù zhù (1), _I…I'm fine, aru. Y-y-you must b-be m-m-mistaken…"_

_The older girl gave her a skeptical look. "Are ya sure?" Erina only nodded vehemently and looked behind her, trying to map out where she was in her head. "Okay then. It was nice meeting you…"_

"_Oh! I'm Erina." She bowed to the other girl._

"_Nice meeting you. I'm Georgia. Feel free to come back any time, Erina."_

_Erina nodded and waved. She turned and tried to find her way back home, knowing full well that she was in for it when China found out._

***

Erina sat down across from Georgia. Normally the other girl was with Russia, but today she seemed to be trying to lose him. "So where's papa?" Erina asked with a smile.

Georgia's lips quirked in a half smile and her left eye twitched slightly. "He's…not here right now. Must be busy with something else…" Her pale fingers drummed the table impatiently, glancing over her shoulder as if she was checking for someone.

"Hmm? Are you looking for someone, da?" Erina's innocent eyes looked right through Georgia.

"Ehh…n-no…" Georgia muttered. "Not at all…"

As they ate, Erina couldn't suppress how much she enjoyed all the different foods. She was constantly asking Georgia what foods were from where and how to make them. As her plate began to empty, Erina picked up a pastry from her plate. "Hey…what's this, aru?" She held it up for Georgia to look at.

Georgia nearly choked on her food as she realized what was being held in front of her. "Th-that's a scone…I wouldn't—"

Too late. Erina had already taken a bite of the British pastry she had been holding.

"…eat that…"

Erina's face went blank for a moment, and Georgia feared the worst. Of course that was until Erina broke into a huge smile and devoured the rest of the scone. "Aiyah~! This is truly _jiā yào_ (2)!!"

A blond nation sidled over to her and asked, "Is that a good thing?"

Erina looked up to the source of the voice and met the face of England. She nodded and said, "Yes! Definitely, da! Are these delicious pastries from your country?"

England only nodded, a small smile on his face. This would show America; he had some nerve, saying that his cooking was bad. He continued to watch as Erina took a bite of the hamburger on her plate. His small smile turned into a full-blown smirk when Erina spit out what she had eaten. "Ahhh! This is so greasy, aru~!" she whined, picking up the hamburger and taking it to the trashcan.

"AHH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?"

America's voice caught the attention of the entire cafeteria. He grabbed Erina by the shoulders and stopped her. "Oh! M-m-m-Mr. America!" she stammered, completely caught off-guard. "C-c-can I h-help you, da?"

"Why are you throwing away a perfectly good hamburger?!" he nearly wailed.

"Isn't it obvious, America?" England cut in, still smirking. "She's throwing it away because she doesn't like it."

America's jaw hit the floor. "WHAAAT?!?!? How can you not love these?" he asked, taking the hamburger from Erina and waving it in her face.

She shrank slightly at the outburst and felt her lower lip quiver slightly. "I…I…I don't really like it is all, aru…" she murmured.

"But you like that guy's _scones_?!"

Erina didn't answer, only looking away to hide the tears welling up in her eyes. She felt a tap on the shoulder and looked around wildly only to look into England's green eyes. "Are you here with anyone?" he asked.

She bit her lip and nodded timidly. "W-who…who are you, da?"

"You can call me England. Now, who is it that you're here with, young lady?"

"Erina."

England raised and eyebrow at her. "Beg your pardon?"

"Erina…it's my name, aru. I-I'm here with my _gē ge_." Erina pointed across the room to where China sat.

England nodded again and walked her over to where China and several other Asian nations were sitting. "This someone you know?" England asked flatly.

"Ah! Erina! Where have you been, aru?" China demanded, looking at his younger sister sternly.

"Y-y-you looked busy…so I was sitting with Georgia, da," she replied, looking apologetic.

He sighed and patted her head lightly. "I see. Stay here, aru. I'm going to talk with someone." Unseen by Erina, China was looking straight at England; possibly a bit more harshly than he had to. "Just talk with your siblings, aru."

"Siblings?" Erina asked, looking confused.

"Ah, that's right, you haven't met them, aru." China quickly introduced Erina to her new-found siblings, and went off to talk with England.

Erina sat nervously at the table, wringing her hands in her lap. What should she say? They seemed to know her, but she didn't have a clue as to who they were aside from their names. She resumed eating what was left on her plate, thinking it was best for her to stay quiet. Every now and then, her eyes would dart up to look at the unreadable (to her) faces of the others she was sitting with.

"Hey…_xiǎo mèi_. Can you talk?"

Erina jumped slightly and looked up. The only other girl (Taiwan, was what her brother had called her) was speaking to her. Erina nodded almost shyly, trying to hide behind the hair hanging in her face. "I...I'm not so good with others, aru…" she muttered, blushing with embarrassment.

Taiwan smiled at her. "Ahh…at least we know you can speak now!" She turned to one of the boys and told him, "See? I was right."

Erina recalled the other two's names being Korea and Hong Kong…or something like that. She watched as Korea waved his hand back and forth nonchalantly. "Yeah, yeah. I get it." He crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out at Taiwan. She, in turn, hit him on the head.

"What kind of example are you setting for Erina? China was very clear when he said for us to be polite around her!"

As the two of them started bickering, Erina looked up at Hong Kong and asked, "Um…sh-shouldn't you stop them, da?"

He raised and eyebrow and shrugged as if to say "They can solve it themselves."

Erina resumed her eating, and somehow miraculously polished off everything on her plate. She took a drink of the tea she had gotten earlier and relaxed a bit. Sure, her new siblings were going to take some getting used to, but they seemed nice enough. She sighed contentedly and smiled to herself; yes, she was definitely glad that China had brought her to this meeting.

***

The meeting had reconvened about an hour later, and Erina found herself once again sitting next to her brother. Not that she minded, of course; she was just a bit tired and had kind of wanted to take a nap. She figured her brother wouldn't mind, since he had said that she didn't really need to pay attention because he would explain everything later. Content with her reasoning, she curled up in her chair and drifted off letting her head rest on her brother's shoulder.

***

_Erina sat to the side of the blood-stained battlefield where her brother and papa had finally finished fighting. She hadn't understood what it was for, but she knew she didn't like watching them fight like that. She watched the two approach each other and talk for about five minutes before they turned to her. Erina didn't know what to make of the looks on their faces. Her brother; face etched with worry and concern for his youngest sister. Her papa; the ever present smile on his face and something else she couldn't understand._

_China and Russia walked toward her and she looked up at them with confused brown eyes. "_Gē ge_…? Papa…?"_

_China held out a hand wordlessly and helped her up. "Wh-what's wrong, aru?" Her brother merely shook his head and released his grip on her hand. Erina turned her eyes to look into her papa's violet eyes. The smile he gave her was almost pained looking, and he handed her a sunflower. "Papa…?"_

"_Until Russia can see you again, da?" His smile had returned to being the childish one she was used to seeing._

"_Da…"_

***

Erina awoke with a start to her brother shaking her lightly. "Mmm…did I fall asleep, aru?" she mumbled sleepily.

He nodded. "Don't worry about it, aru. I'll tell you about what you missed on the way home." Erina held her arms out up to her brother, silently asking to be carried. China smiled and scooped her up. "Aiyah…you're so lazy, aru," he teased. Erina pulled back and playfully stuck her tongue out at her brother. She held on tightly to the sunflower her papa had given her, and waved goodbye to Russia as China carried her out. As they made their way out, Erina noticed America and England talking—though arguing might be a better word—and waved to America. The blue-eyed man paused mid-sentence and gazed at her with what she read as pity. _'But…why?'_ she wondered before the door swung shut.

* * *

**_Translations-_**

**_(1): I'm sorry (formal)_**

**_(2): delicious food_**

**Faded: :U anyone wanna guess what AMURCA is thinking? i'll write a request for ya if you get it right ;)**

**Riane: do they get a hint?**

**Faded: um...the hint is..."change"**

**Riane: ...but that doesn't even make sense!**

**Faded: if you really think about, you can figure it out, promise. anyways, hope you enjoyed! as always, please leave a review! ciao~**


	3. America Returns!

**Faded: finally! Chapter 3 of this dang story!**

**Riane: about time...**

**Faded: oh shut up. Anyways, I'd like to say congrats once again to akatsukigirl1230 for getting the correct answer to my little contest in the last chapter. Feel free to go check out the one-shot I wrote for her!**

**Riane: it's russiaxchina loveliness! :D**

**Faded: yep. So anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Riane: TFG does not own APH in any way, shape, or form. She only owns the made up country of The Republic of Erina.**

_**

* * *

**_

_**China & Erina**_

"We're home, aru." China nudged his sister lightly to wake her up. She stirred slightly, but didn't open her eyes. He sighed and smiled to himself; it was no surprise that she had fallen fast asleep, after all, he had woken her up early to get ready for the meeting.

He carried Erina to her room and tucked her into bed. He hoped he had done the right thing by bringing her to a meeting. He had always warned her that other nations might try to take her from him, but that was honestly the last thing on his mind. What truly concerned him was that someone (read: America) would plant the idea of independence in her mind. China had always given his sister certain freedoms, but it bothered him to think of her as being completely independent. He hated thinking that she would rebel in the same way Japan had, leaving him with another inerasable scar. Not that it really mattered anyways; Erina had always been an angel of a little sister.

***

"_Gē ge_?" Erina looked around for her brother. It had been a few days since the meeting and he seemed busier than usual. While it was normal for her brother to be working extra hard after a meeting, she had hardly seen him at all the past few days.

She walked into his bedroom wondering if he was perhaps still asleep. "_Gē ge_?" she called again, looking for any sign of him. She found a note addressed to her placed on his pillow. She read over the hastily written Chinese and sighed; her brother had gone out to run some errands and would be back in about an hour and half. Erina helped herself to some left-over chow mein that was in the fridge and ate it slowly, waiting for her brother to come home.

_**America & England**_

'_Rrrring…rrrring…rrrring…'_

America fiddled impatiently with his tie, waiting for someone to pick up before he lost his nerve and hung up himself. So sure, their relations had finally patched themselves up through the fact that their two bosses got along great; but, that didn't mean he _enjoyed_ having to call England up for advice.

'_Rrrring…rrrri—'_

Finally.

"What is it now, America?" England asked the (not) slight irritation in his voice quite obvious.

"Hey, Iggy!" America greeted. "Wait…how'd you know it was me?"

"It's called caller ID, you git," England replied, not surprised when the American didn't understand. "Now what is it that you want?"

"Oh! Umm…" America thought for a moment, almost forgetting why he had called his not big brother up. "Oh yeah! What do you know about that kid that was with China at the meeting the other day?"

England paused, trying to piece together what America was trying to say through his terrible grammar. "Are you referring to the girl who tried to throw one of your hamburgers in the trash?"

America nodded excitedly until he remembered that England couldn't see what he was doing. "Yeah, her. Is she China's colony or something?"

"I'm not exactly sure, America," England told him. "That was my first time seeing her as well. Why don't you just ask China?"

"Hey! That's a good idea! I'll go visit him right now! Thanks Iggy!" England merely grunted and said goodbye, before completely hanging up. America stood and grabbed his jacket; it was time to pay his old ally a visit.

_**America & Erina**_

'_Knock knock!'_

Erina looked up from practicing her writing. Was China back already? She peeked out the window and saw not her brother, but America waiting at the door. She had been told not to let strangers in the house, but America wasn't a stranger to her. Well…maybe he _was_ a bit strange, but he wasn't someone she didn't know.

'_Knock knock!'_

Deciding that it was ok, Erina opened the door. "_Ni hao_ (1), Mr. America," she said, bowing to him.

America jumped slightly at the sound of her voice. "Oh! Hi…um…oh yeah! Erina! Hey, Erina!"

"Do you want to come in, aru?" she asked, standing to the side.

"Sure, thanks."

Once America entered the house, Erina immediately assumed her duty as a hostess. "Would you like something to eat or drink? Oh, and please take off your shoes. _Gē ge_ is very strict about that, da."

"Oh, sorry." America slipped off his shoes and placed them by the door way. "Um…actually, I was wondering if I could talk to your—" What was China to this girl? Brother? Father? "If I could talk to China."

"Oh, _gē ge_ is out running some errands right now," Erina told him, picking up her pen and continuing to practice writing Chinese. "Are you sure you don't need anything, Mr. America, aru?"

America shook his head. "You don't mind if I wait here till he comes back, do you?"

She paused in her writing. "No, it's ok. Please make yourself at home, da."

"Kay…" America seated himself on one of the chairs and watched Erina work. How could a girl her age not want any kind of freedom? She seemed content to stay under China's rule, with only a limited amount of freedom. Had he been like that when he was with England? America couldn't remember; the only thing he remembered from being a colony was finally breaking away from England's rule. Was that why he felt connected to this girl? It was possible, he supposed; she was very close with China, just as he had once been close with England.

"Mr. America? Are you alright, aru?" Erina was looking straight at him with unwavering brown eyes. She was slightly concerned for the older man who had been watching her. His face had held that same said look as when she had left her first meeting with her brother.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm fine." He smiled weakly and sighed.

"Oh! I know! I'll show you around, da!" Erina beamed at him, unable to hide her excitement. She stood up and grabbed his hand, dragging him toward her room.

"Wha? Are you sure?" he asked, marveling at how strong the tiny micronation was.

She nodded happily and pulled him into her room. "This is my room, aru!" she said with a bright smile.

The room was painted blue, with splotches of yellow here and there. Hanging above the window was a flag; it had a square of red and yellow in the upper left corner on top of the blue base, and taking up the rest of the flag was a simple yellow crescent moon. In one corner of the room was a table with a vase of sunflowers on it. A bed was pushed up against one of the walls facing out the window.

"It's very, um…colorful," America told her, surveying the room. "But don't you have a desk or table or something to work on?"

Erina shook her head. "I usually work on my lessons at the kitchen table, da." She took his hand again and led him outside.

"H-hey, I can walk, you know!" America told her indignantly, trying to pry his hand from Erina's death grip on it.

"Hmm? Oh, _duí bù zhù_ (2), Mr. America. I was just kind of excited. We don't normally get visitors, aru." She blushed slightly as she let go of his hand, feeling more than a little embarrassed.

"Heh…it's fine. Though, I _am _wondering where you got so strong," he asked, following her through the corridors of the house.

"Oh, that? Well, both papa and _gē ge_ taught me how to do martial arts. I even beat my friend Georgia one time!" she answered, smiling. "But I'm only allowed to do it if I'm in trouble or if it's just for fun, da."

"Oh, well that's cool."

The two of them finally reached the outdoor gardens. America was in awe at the sight. There were orchids, bamboo plants, and lotuses all over the place as well as other plants that he couldn't name. Hell, China even had a koi pond in the garden! Erina skipped over to the pond and gazed down at fish swimming around. "_Ni hao,_ _xiǎo yú_ (3)," she giggled, sprinkling some food into the pond for them.

"So, um…do you like living with China?" he asked, glancing back at the sprawling one story house.

She nodded happily. "Yes. _Gē ge_ takes very good care of me, aru." She sat on the edge of the pond and kicked her feet back and forth idly.

America looked thoughtfully at her. What _did _she know about being independent? Or, for that matter, what did she know about the rest of the world? "So…you must spend a lot of time with him, huh?"

Erina nodded again. "I've been with _gē ge_ my whole life, da." She paused before adding, "Oh, but I was with papa for a little while too."

"Um…papa?" he asked hesitantly.

"Uh-huh! He gave me the sunflowers that are in my room. And he also gave me one when I went to the meeting, aru!"

America's face visibly paled as he made the connection. "Y-you mean…Russia?! He's your…your dad???"

Erina shrugged. "Um…kind of? I'm not sure. I've always called him my papa, da."

America shook the (more than) slightly disturbing images from his head. Ok, so Erina was close with both China and Russia; that cleared a little bit up. But why didn't she live on her own? That was the next thing he wanted to find out. "Alright, then. Well, then maybe you can clear something up for me. Were you, er…'created' or were you on your own before?"

Erina tapped her chin as she thought. "Hmm…well I used to be on my own, but I was even smaller than I am now, aru. But then both papa and _gē ge_ found me, da. They were both very nice to me and said that if I went with them they would protect me, aru. I wanted to stay with both of them, but I guess I couldn't do that because they started fighting, da. I didn't understand what they were fighting about, but when they were done fighting, I was told to go with _gē ge_. It didn't make sense to me, because while they were fighting I stayed with papa, but he said to go with _gē ge_, so I did, aru."

America grew even more confused. So she had known independence, but she had willingly given it up to be protected. Still, she had obviously grown _and_ had been taught how to fight. Why did she still feel the need to stay with China? He had a million more questions, but none the little micronation could answer. "Hm…well thanks for answering my questions, Erina," he told her with a slight smile.

She grinned widely. "Not a problem! We should probably go back inside, though, in case _gē ge_ comes back and wonders where I am, da." America nodded and followed her back in the house. If China was back, he definitely had questions for the older nation.

About ten minutes later, China returned home carrying bags of groceries. "Welcome home, _gē ge_!" Erina greeted happily, hugging her brother around the waist.

China smiled and placed the groceries on the kitchen table. "Hello, aru," he said, patting Erina on the head. "Were you a good girl, aru?"

She nodded. "Oh, there's someone here to see, aru," she said, pulling him into the living room.

"Aiyah, no need to pull me, aru," he teased, following her.

"Hey, China!" America greeted from his seat on the couch.

China's smile faltered slightly. "Ah…what brings you here, aru?" he asked, addressing the blond nation.

"I wanted to talk to you about, uh…something," America answered, his eyes darting to Erina.

China nodded, understanding. He turned his attention to Erina and said, "Why don't you go play in your room, aru?"

Erina nodded, and waved to America before skipping off to her room.

_**China & America**_

Once Erina was out of earshot, China turned to face America. "I'm assuming you wanted to ask about my sister, aru?"

America nodded. "Yeah…how long has she been under your care? She seems really young."

"Despite her appearance, Erina has been with me for quite some time," China told him. "Almost four hundred years, aru. The only reason she seems so young is because her, well…territory, I suppose, is small and she has been very isolated, aru."

"Isolation, huh?" America questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Was that your doing, or was she always like that?"

China's mouth turned down into a frown. "She's a very shy girl, aru. Not very good at warming up to people, aru." He crossed his arms and looked straight at America. "If you'll excuse me, I need make sure Erina has finished her lessons, aru. I trust you'll be able to find your way out, aru." Without another word, China turned and disappeared into one of the rooms.

America sighed to himself. China clearly didn't want to let the girl go, but America himself knew that the older nation would have to sooner or later. And then there was Erina herself; maybe he would help her see the perks of being independent. When he left, America was satisfied with what he had found out. The next thing to do, was to inform the other nations.

* * *

_Translations:_

(_1)— Hello_

_(2)—I'm sorry. (formal)_

_(3)—Hello, little fish._

**Faded: uh-oh! 'Merica's gonna go tell everyone about Erina! This won't end well!**

**Riane: that's fer damn sure.**

**Faded: so, since I'm running low on creativity, anyone wanna toss me some ideas for the next chapter? The only thing that matters to me is that idea is at least decent and perferably during a UN meeting.**

**Riane: so get those brains going, dudes! She's desperate!**

**Faded: that's true...Anyways, drop a review or and idea. I'm open to pretty much anything. Till next time!**


	4. Revealed

**Faded: welcome! so i finally got over my writer's block and managed to crank this out.**

**Riane: whoo. finally.**

**Faded: so i won't keep ya'll waiting any longer. here's chapter 4!**

**Raine: TFG doesn't own hetalia in any way, shape, or form.**

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_**Erina**_

Erina lolled around in bed, pulling the covers over her head to block out the sunlight. China had left early for a meeting with his boss and had told her that he would be gone most of the day. Finally deciding that she should get out of bed, she threw the covers off and went to the kitchen to make herself some pot stickers.

After about another hour and a half, she was done with her breakfast and sitting on the couch watching TV. She didn't understand how people could sit and watch it for hours on end. The cartoon show playing on the screen lulled her back into a state of sleepiness and she drifted off again.

***

Erina awoke with a start to the sound of the phone ringing. Stumbling off the couch, she reached over and answered the phone. "Hello, aru?"

"Hi!" came a boisterous voice from the other end of the line. "This is Erina, right?"

"Da…who is this?" she asked, wiping the sleep from her eyes with one hand.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry. It's America." She could almost hear the smile in his voice as he spoke.

"Ah. Did you need something from my brother, aru?" she asked, staring absently at the TV, which she had left on.

"Actually…no. I was gonna ask you something, but I can only ask if China isn't around," he told her.

"Why do you not want him around, da?"

"Eh…no reason. So is he there?"

"No, aru."

"Okay, cool. You wanna come to a UN meeting with me?"

Erina bit her lip slightly. Her brother had always told her not to go places with strangers, but as with before, America wasn't all that strange to her. "Da, I will go with you," she finally answered. "But…how am I going to get to the meeting, aru?" she asked innocently.

"Don't you worry about that!" America told her. "Just go get ready and I'll come by to get ya."

"Mm-hmm. I will see you in a little while, da?" She picked up the remote and switched the TV off.

"Yep. See ya!"

The line went dead and Erina went to go get ready for the meeting. This would be the first time she had ever gone anywhere without China or Russia. It worried her a bit, but she didn't think anything would go terribly wrong. _'America seems like a responsible person,'_ she thought to herself, as she put on a formal red and gold _qipao _(1). The doorbell rang and she smiled to herself as she rushed to go greet America.

_**America & Erina**_

Erina stayed close to America as they entered the meeting room. There were countries all over the place! She recognized some from her first world meeting, but there were some that she had never seen and struck her as extremely exotic. She shied away from any attempts at conversation and remained very introverted for the entire meeting. At least until America made his announcement right before the end of the meeting…

"And so, without further ado, I think we can call this meeting to a close—"

"Whoa, wait! Hold up!" Beside her, America had just jumped up and cut off the speaking country. (She hadn't bothered to recall his name, there were too many names to memorize as it was.) "I have an announcement to make!"

A collective grumble rippled through the countries at this. Erina looked up at her chaperone with wide eyes. What was he planning on doing, she wondered vaguely.

"It better not be something bloody stupid again like last time," England muttered, a few seats down from where America was.

"Hey! My announcements are never stupid!" America exclaimed. England merely rolled his eyes and America continued. "Okay, so back to my super important announcement. I bet you're all wondering about the kid I brought with me, today, huh?" There were a few agreements to the statement here and there. "Well, this is Erina." America gestured for her to stand up, and she did, feeling a little awkward as the judgmental eyes of the countries fell upon her. "She's kind of a colony, right now and that's why she's so little. But anyways, she's not my colony, cause I know that's what you're all thinking. She's actually China's colony." There were mutters about Erina's brother throughout the meeting room as America said this.

"Where is aniki, anyways?" Korea asked. "He's never missed a meeting!"

"_Gē ge_ is at a meeting with his boss today, aru," Erina said quietly.

"So yeah, that's basically the announcement," America finished. "Feel free to ask little Erina here any questions you might have."

And as soon as he said that, everything went to hell in a hand basket.

Questions came flying at the not-quite-colony, not-quite-micronation from all directions. Questions regarding her age, the size of her territory, political stand points, military strength, her location and all hundreds of others were thrown at her. Being unused to the attention, Erina froze up and looked around frantically for a familiar face. Finally her eyes landed on someone she could be grateful to see.

"Papa!"

Erina tore from the spot she was standing over to where Russia sat, not really paying attention to the growing ruckus around him. She jumped onto him and clung tightly to his coat, bawling her eyes out.

Russia looked down at the little colony-nation that was clinging to him. "Hmm? Erina? Something is wrong?" he asked pleasantly.

Erina said nothing, and only tried to burrow into the larger nation's coat as a way to hide from the terrifying countries that wouldn't leave her alone. Unnoticed by her, the countries that had been questioning her had gone quiet as soon as she had fled to her "papa." She sniffled and looked up at Russia. "Papa…papa, I…I want to go home, aru."

Russia smiled pleasantly and nodded. "Da, I will take you home. But first I would like to talk to America. That is okay with you, da?"

Erina nodded and scurried out the door, waiting for Russia. She waited patiently outside for Russia, wondering absently if her brother was still in his meeting. _'Hm…he might be upset with me for leaving and not telling him…'_ She was still reeling slightly from the experience in the meeting room, but couldn't quite get over what that feeling of recognition had felt like. What would it be like to be independent again as she had been when she was young? Even now she could never entirely recall what it had been like to be independent, but she had needed that dependency on her brother and papa. Without that support from either Russia or China, she may well have fallen very quickly.

"Time for us to go~!" Russia picked Erina up and set her in the car. She squealed happily as she was picked up and bounced happily in her seat. Perhaps when she got home, she would as her brother what "independence" was.

_**China, Russia & Erina**_

_Knock knock!_

China jumped slightly at the noise. He had been so worried about his sister that he hadn't even heard a car pull up outside. He rushed to the door and pulled it open to see Russia and Erina standing in the doorway. "_Gē ge_!" she cried happily, hugging him around the waist.

He smiled and hugged her back. "Where have you been, aru?" he asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"I…I…" She bit her bottom lip and looked away from him. "_Wàibian _(2)…"

China sighed. She obviously wasn't going to tell him now. "Very well. Go get ready for dinner, aru." Erina nodded sheepishly and walked to her room. As soon as she was out of earshot, he turned to Russia and demanded, "What happened, aru?!"

Russia gave the older nation his ever present smile. "You mean you did not know the she was gone?" he asked.

China frowned at this. "No…if I had known, I wouldn't be asking, aru." He crossed his arms and held the Russian's stare. "Why? Who was she with, aru?"

"She was with America-kun at a UN meeting," Russia told him, his expression not changing a bit as China's expression turned to stone. "Da, everyone seemed very interested in her territory."

"No! I don't believe it, aru!" China shook his head empathically. "She would never—!"

"But she did~!" Russia said, cutting him off. "Perhaps I will have to take her back, since it seems you are not fit to take care of her, da?"

China was taken aback by the sudden threat. "No! I will fight you for her again, aru!" China told him. "I do not want to, but I will if I must, aru!"

"Very well. But I will be back to see her again soon. Oh, and you will give this to her, da?" Russia produced a sunflower from his coat and handed it to China, who merely nodded at the request. "Da, and tell her to not lose hope."

A little while after Russia left, Erina came out of her room to talk to her brother. To her surprise, China was sitting on the couch, curled up and holding onto a sunflower. "_Gē ge_? Are you okay? Da, you look sad. What happened, aru?"

China shook his head and tried to smile. "I-I'm fine, aru. Just a little worn out, aru." He held his sister close, wondering if she would really want to leave and have her own independence. She had never complained about her situation before, so what had changed? Had he made a mistake in bringing her to that world conference? He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't hear her when she asked him a question. "Hmm? What was that, aru?"

Erina giggled a little at her older brother's spacy-ness. "I asked what independence is, aru," she repeated. "I think America said something about it before…"

China laughed nervously. "Ah…well it is a western idea, aru," he replied, not wanting to give an actual answer.

"So then…it is a bad thing, da?" she asked innocently. Erina had been raised on the principle that many western ideals were not in her best interest and that she should always ignore them if she wanted to remain with her brother.

China nodded immediately at that. "Yes. Yes it is, aru. You must never be independent. Do you understand, aru?"

Erina nodded happily. "Da! I understand, aru!"

***

It was late at night. Very late. China definitely wouldn't approve her being up at this time to make a call. But…she had to do this. Erina needed an explanation, and her brother, in all his wisdom, hadn't given her an adequate one. She snuck down the hall into the kitchen where one of the phones were. She looked around for her brother's contact list and looked it over until she found the number she was looking for and dialed.

_Ring…ring…ring…_

"Heeello?" came the voice from the other end.

"H-hello?" she said quietly. "This is America, da?"

"Yep! Who's this?" he asked.

"This is Erina, aru," she told him, curling on one of the kitchen chairs.

"Oh! Rina! Hey! How's it going?" he asked excitedly. "Did ya need something?"

"Actually…da." She paused and glanced down the hall to see if her brother was awake. "Can you tell me what independence is, aru?"

"Huh? Oh…um, sure!" he replied. "But, why the sudden interest?"

"Oh…no reason. But you will tell me, da?"

"Of course! But let me start by telling you about why I became independent…"

* * *

_(1) - a traditional chinese dress_

_(2) - out/outside_

**Faded: kay, next chapter is after about a 4 year time skip. you're gonna see some major changes in Erina's personality, so be warned.**

**Raine: you mean like how she--- *gets hit on the head***

**Faded: NO HINTS. if ya wanna see what's gonna happen, stay tuned! ;)**


	5. Siberia

**Faded: right. finally finished this chapter! yay!**

**Riane: 'bout time, you lazy arse.**

**Faded: shaddup! anywho, this one takes place after a time skip of...i don't know how many years. you can choose how old Erina is here.**

**Riane: -rolls eyes- get on with it.**

**Faded: right...well, hope you enjoy it! :3**

**Riane: The Faded Guardian does not own Hetalia or any related characters, she only owns the plot and her character Erina.**

_**

* * *

**_

Erina (current age: 13-16)

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

Erina tried to ignore the banging on the bathroom door as she showered. She hummed to herself as a distraction; unfortunately that didn't work. The banging on the door continued until she finally yelled, "WHAT?" through the shower curtain.

"Get the fuck out of the shower already!" came the voice from outside the bathroom. "You're not the only one that lives here, dammit!"

"I'm taking a shower!" she screamed indignantly. "You can wait your turn just like I have to wait for you!"

She heard a grumble from outside followed by fading footsteps. She smirked to herself. That would teach him. She sighed softly as the water ran over her. So much had changed in such little time. The biggest change being that now she had to deal with _him_. _He_ was Siberia, her not-so-new brother. And to tell the truth, she really hated him. Call it PMS, but every time she saw him, she wanted knock the living daylights out of him. But she didn't, because then she got in trouble with not only China, but Russia as well; and that just wouldn't do. It made her steam to think that she had been replaced by that…that _territory_. No, not even; he was just a _region_. Erina on the other hand was a slowly blooming nation (though still under China's control and referred to as a micornation) and dammit, they should be paying more attention to her!

Erina turned the water off and grabbed her towel, wrapping it tightly around herself. _'Well fine,'_ she thought to herself. _'Let them coddle him. I'll make them regret trying to replace me.'_ She changed into her clothes (Which consisted of a warm long-sleeved shirt, work jeans, and a jacket, scarf and boots much like Russia's.) and walked out of the bathroom. She knocked lightly on her brother's door to tell him she was going to be out. "_Gegē_?" she called, pushing the door open. "Are you in here?" She poked her head in and looked around. "Hm. Guess he's not." She walked the rest of the way in and sat down at his desk. She always felt important sitting there because it was where her brother signed all his important documents. She took a piece of paper and a pen and wrote him a quick note in Chinese, detailing where she would be going and about how long she would be gone and left it where he would most likely see it. (The kitchen.)

As she was on her way out, she (unfortunately) bumped into Siberia. "Where the hell you think you're going?" he asked.

"What do you care?" she asked, looking up at him fiercely.

Siberia only smirked. "I don't. Tell me anyway."

"_I_ am going to visit Georgia. You know, my _friend_? Oh, wait, but that's probably a foreign concept to you," she sneered. "Cause, you know, you don't _have_ any!"

Siberia's eyes turned icy and he raised a hand, about to smack her across the face, when—

"Siberia! Erina!"

The two of them looked up to the disappointed face of China. His arms were crossed and he was looking at the two of them as if they had done something wrong. (Which they almost had. Fighting was a huge no-no in the house.) "Explain, aru."

They both started speaking quickly and at the same time. "I was just asking–" "He got in my way and–" "She had to get all up in my face about–" "And he wouldn't leave me alone, so–" "So she was all–" "And he was like–" "So then I got kinda pissed–" "And he was gonna hit me!"

China held up a hand for them to stop, and rubbed his temples slightly. "Siberia, we'll talk about this later, aru. And Erina, you didn't have to leave a note, I would have been fine with you going to Georgia's anyway, aru."

Erina nodded and waved a goodbye, scurrying out to where her bike was. She couldn't wait to vent to her friend. Even if Georgia didn't give great advice, she was still a great listener.

_**Erina & Georgia**_

Erina and Georgia were sitting in the latter's house, lounging around as Erina recounted her version of her almost-fist-fight with Siberia. "…and then China came over right before he slapped me. But you _know_ I totally would've kicked his ass from here to hell if he had."

Georgia chuckled slightly. "Definitely. _And_ you would kick him back."

The two girls laughed and clinked their glasses together. They talked a little while longer before Georgia proposed that they go out somewhere. "Where are we supposed to go?" Erina asked, with a slightly smile.

Georgia shrugged. "I 'unno. But c'mon, me, you, maybe call up some of the other girls and just go out. It could be fun."

Erina shrugged. "Sure! Why not?"

A little while later, a few more countries had arrived at Georgia's house ready to go out. Belgium, Hungary, and Seychelles had arrived to hang out with the other to, the rest were busy or…Natalia. "So what are we doing?" Hungary asked, leaning forward and lacing her hands together.

Erina shrugged. "What are you guys up for?" she asked. "We could go see a movie…shopping…anything's fine with me. I just have to be back before dinner." She made a face, but returned to her smile quick enough.

Belgium looked thoughtful before saying, "Well if you have to be back home at a certain time, we probably shouldn't go _too_ far out of the way." Ever the responsible and mature one, Belgium didn't want the young micornation to get in trouble.

Seychelles stuck her tongue out at that. "Oh, c'mon Bell. I'm sure China won't mind if she out just a _little_ late." Seychelles winked at Erina, who gave the other a thumbs-up. "Besides, isn't China distracted with Siberia, or whatever?"

Erina's smile disappeared and she grumbled something about a "stupid replacement." Georgia leaned over the others and whispered, "She's not exactly fond of Siberia…they almost got in a fist fight today cause of something he said." The others nodded understandingly.

"Okay, well why don't we just do the girl thing and just go out shopping?" Hungary proposed. And then in a flash of inspiration (or maybe it was mischievousness) she added, "We can go over to _America_ for the shopping, too! I heard he has some great shopping in New York City."

Erina looked up and blushed at the mention of America. In the time she spent with the few other female countries, they had quickly figured out her crush on the free-spirited nation. "I…I guess," she mumbled. "If you guys want…"

Belgium smiled slightly and poked the teen's cheek. "Oh, you don't have to be so embarrassed about it. It's not like we'll actually run into him, right?" She held out a hand to Erina and gave her a reassuring smile. "Now, how about that shopping trip?"

_**America & Erina**_

Erina and her group of friends had arrived in New York City a little under 2 hours ago and were now wandering the streets of the SoHo district. None of them had bought that much, but looking at the group of laughing female countries, one would just brush them off as a group of girls out in the city. Erina smiled happily; she could hardly ever get out of the house anymore on account of having to watch the house whenever China was gone, which seemed to be a lot of the time now.

"Hey, let's go grab something to eat," Georgia suggested, pointing to one of the cafés. "I don't know about you guys, but I am _starved_."

The other girls nodded in agreement and crowded into the café. They sat at a table near the window, chatting about mindless things until their food came. Belgium tapped Erina on the shoulder and said, "See? I told you we wouldn't run into him." Erina smiled at the older girl and nodded happily. She had been being silly to think that she would run into America in, of all places, a _shopping_ district. She ran a hand through her black hair and looked out the window at the busy street outside. She leaned against the window pane and let her mind wander. She had seen so many things today…though, she supposed it wouldn't have been all bad if they had run into—

"America!" she gasped, seeing his figure approaching the café they were in. "Hide me! Hide me!"

Hungary and the other countries looked over to see what Erina was going on about. "Hey, I think he's coming in!" Hungary exclaimed.

America was right outside the café, debating whether or not he wanted to go in. However, after catching what he thought was a glimpse of Erina's face, he decided he would go in and (if she was there) talk to her. The little bell over the door jingled a bit as he walked in. He looked around saw Erina trying to hide behind Seychelles and Georgia.

"Shh! Pretend like I'm not here!" she whispered, as he continued looking around.

Seychelles giggled slightly. "Hehe…Erina, you're such a chicken!" The brown haired girl waved her arms frantically to get America's attention. "Heeeeey! Over here!" she called.

America turned his head at the sound of Seychelles' voice. Instead of seeing just Seychelles by herself, he saw Erina hitting the smaller nation with a fistful of napkins. "Why the hell'd you do that?!" Erina demanded, continuing her assault on Seychelles.

Seychelles only giggled at her friend's antics. "Oh please. You're grateful that I did that," she told Erina.

America had a slightly amused look on his face as he walked over to where the group of girls were. "Hey," he greeted, grinning. "What're you guys doing here?" he asked, taking a seat next to–of _course_–Erina.

Hungary shrugged. "We decided to have a girl's day out," she replied. "You know, shopping, gossiping, no _guys_." She emphasized the last word, hinting not-so-subtly that America wasn't exactly welcome.

"H-hey, it's just America, guys," Erina told them half-heartedly. "What's he gonna do? Follow us around for the rest of the day?" She laughed lightly at her own comment. "I mean…I'm sure he's–hey! What are you whispering to them about Georgia?!" Erina demanded, seeing Georgia whispering animatedly to the other girls.

Georgia's head snapped up. "Ehehehe…nothing~!" the older girl replied innocently. "But…how can we have our girls' day out with America here? He's gonna be the dead weight none of us want to carry around. …no offense, America."

America shrugged. "None taken," he replied.

"Anyways," Georgia continued. "Why don't you have America take you home? I'm sure China is worried sick." The grin on Georgia's face suggested that she had more in store for the micornation later.

"I–but–!" Erina tried to respond, but couldn't think of a suitable excuse to say no. "O…okay…" she mumbled finally.

America grinned at her. "All right! C'mon, let's go!" He slipped his hand in hers like it was the most natural thing in the world, and led her out of the café. Erina looked behind her and saw her friends waving, laughing, and making kissy faces at her. She felt herself blush and mouthed "shut up!" at them, before exiting the café.

_**Erina & Siberia**_

America was walking with Erina up the winding walkway to the front of China's home. "Thanks for, y'know…bothering to take me home," she mumbled, looking at the ground.

"Hey, it's no big deal!" he told her, ruffling her hair slightly. "Anytime you wanna swing by my place, just let me know, mmkay?"

She nodded. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." She waved to him as he walked back down the walkway and went to his car. Quietly, so as not to wake China or anyone else in the house, Erina unlocked the door & slipped in.

_Click_.

Erina froze. Light flooded the area of the living room. Slowly, she turned around to see who had turned on the light and came face-to-face with Siberia, who was sitting in a chair, arms crossed and giving her a disapproving look.

"Well, well. Nice of you to come home, little sister," he drawled arrogantly. "Weren't you told to come back for dinner, young lady?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

She swallowed thickly; this was _exactly_ what she had wanted to avoid. "W-well…I wound up having dinner with Georgia at her house," she replied a little nervously. "A-and…it wound up taking longer than expected."

Siberia scoffed, not believing her at all. "Right. And that's why America dropped you off?" She gasped almost involuntarily. Her brother merely grinned and continued. "Oh, yes I saw that, my saintly little sister. And, I'm going to tell China."

Erina winced at his words.

Busted.

* * *

**Faded: DIDJA LIKE IT? DIDJA LIKE IT? DIDJA LIKE IT????**

**Riane: i'm sure they did, faded. chill**

**Faded: hehe...whoops. anyways, one more chapter in this timeline, then we're really gonna be moving on to the best part! -glee- i can't wait! i hope you guys will like it!**

**Riane: they will...anyways, don't forget to drop her a review so i don't have to keep stroking her ego like this.**

**Faded: bye! oh...and i might hold a contest soon, so stay tuned!**


	6. Please Send Help

**Faded: look! i posted it finally! (i could sworn i did this earlier...sorry.)**

**Riane: you. are a retard.**

**Faded: oh shut up. anyway, i'm soooo sorry about the late update. chapter 7 is almost done, so you'll (hopefully) be seeing that soon. ^^"**

**Riane: right. so she says. anyways, Hetalia doesn't belong to The Faded Guardian in any way, shape, or form.**

**Faded: on with the show!  
**

_**

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Erina**_

_Dear America,_

_Hello, how are you doing?_

No…that was too formal.

She crumpled the paper in front of her and tossed it in the waste bin by her desk.

_Hi America, how's it going?_

She shook her head at herself. Now it was too informal. Sure they were friends, but this wasn't something to be addressed lightly.

She sighed, and crumpled this paper and let it join the other in the waste bin.

_America:_

_Hi. Sorry I haven't contacted you in a while, I've been busy. Anyways, I'm writing because I need to discuss something important with you…_

Erina looked over the first few lines of what she had written and smiled slightly. Perfect. She continued writing, detailing what she needed to discuss and when and where they could meet up to talk. The only problem there was, was how to sneak the letter past Siberia and safely to the mailbox for pick up in the morning. When she was done, she tucked the letter neatly into a small envelope and stuck it in her pocket.

Since she had been busted by Siberia about supposedly being out with America instead of with her friend Georgia, China had made sure the teen was strictly policed at all times by none other than her "brother" (if you could call him that) Siberia. The older boy was more than happy to oblige, constantly tailing her wherever she went. The only time Erina was able to get time to herself now was if she was a) in the bathroom or b) had locked the door to her bedroom. (Though even if she did, Siberia was able to manhandle doorknobs in the same way Russia could, so that didn't always work out.)

She walked coolly out of her room and toward the door, but as soon as she made contact with the doorknob, Siberia was on her in a second.

"And where do you think _you're_ going?" he asked, an almost cattish smirk on his face.

"Out to the mailbox," Erina replied simply. "I'm sending a letter to Georgia."

"Why don't you just call her?"

"Because this is meant for her eyes only, and _some people_ don't like it when _other people_ eavesdrop on their phone conversations, _dearest brother_."

Siberia merely scoffed at her tone. If anything he seemed to be amused. So the little girl was finally growing a backbone, he'd hate to see what would happen when she showed her fangs to China for the first time. Perhaps he would string her along a little more, just to speed up the process. "Hmph. I don't care whose eyes it's for," he told Erina. "Show me."

She gave him a 'yeah right' look and pushed past him without a word. Like hell she was going to show him that the letter! Not only would it blow her cover, but it was also a complete invasion of her privacy! Erina huffed to herself and put the letter in the mailbox. "Don't even _think_ about looking at that letter," she growled, before stalking back into the house.

Siberia chuckled to himself. Oh yes, this would be quite interesting. He vaguely wondered how long it would take before the little almost-nation broke and tried to fly on her own without China's help.

_**America**_

"Sir, you have a letter."

America looked up from the paperwork he was finally catching up on and nodded. He took the letter, thanked the secretary and let her leave. He grabbed the letter opener that he never used (because honestly, who sent letters to him anymore, when they could call him?) and tore the envelope open. His eyes flicked over the neatly written text of the letter and, when he was done, had to pause and make sure he had read the signature right. The letter was written with a kind of curtness that he never would have imagined Erina able to portray.

_America:_

_Hi. Sorry I haven't contacted you in a while, I've been busy. Anyways, I'm writing because I need to discuss something important with you. I'm not sure how exactly to say this, so I'll just come out and say it. I need your help. Things are getting out of hand at home. China is constantly trying to keep me from growing on my own. No matter how I try, I am somehow hindered. It is for this reason that I humbly request any help that you can give to me and my people. As they suffer under this nearly tyrannical rule, I do as well. I want to free them from this and allow them to truly _live_._

_I hope that I can count on you to do what is best, though I understand if I am too much of a liability to your government. Please give my best to your boss, brother, and everyone else._

_Regards, Erina_

After finally realizing that this letter was _not_ a fake, America immediately wrote back, hoping that what he offered would help. Sure, when he had first met her she had been happy to stay with China, but now she seemed to have done a complete 180 from how she had previously felt. There was also something very different about her from the last time that America had seen her. He didn't see any of the relaxed and content girl from before, but now he saw a mature young woman taking on the responsibilities of her country and being her own boss. He also saw some of himself in her. She showed that same wariness of her guardian, as well as that same underlying rebelliousness. He finished the letter and sealed it, calling one of his associates in and telling them to send the letter as soon as possible.

America fiddled idly with his pencil, looking out the window. Now all that was left was to play the waiting game.

_**Erina & Siberia**_

One month. She had waited a whole month, with no response.

Erina sighed to herself and laughed quietly. She should have expected this; after all, she was still a tiny little thing with an even smaller military strength. She was nothing but a burden to any other country besides China, but she doubted even that. Maybe Siberia was right. Maybe she should just shut up and be happy that she had someone to take care of her instead of having to take care of everything by herself.

Erina slammed her hands down on her desk. No! Like hell was she going to listen to a word that asshole Siberia said. She would show him…she would show them all! Dammit, she would fight for what she wanted. "I'll fight…" she muttered to herself. "I'll fight and I'll win."

"And what if you don't?"

Erina jumped in her seat and turned to see Siberia standing in the door way to her room. She frowned and crossed her arms. "What do you want?" she asked.

"What are you even fighting for?" he asked, brushing a few stray strands of hair from his face.

"What do you care?" she demanded. "It's none of your business anyways."

Siberia only grinned cheekily. "Hmm…I wonder what China will say when he finds out _you're_ trying to gain independence." He feigned thoughtfulness and added, "He'll probably never let you out of his sight again."

"Which is precisely _why_ I need to do this!" Erina exclaimed. "He needs to understand that I'm not just a trophy for him to show off! I'm becoming my own nation; tiny, yes, but still a nation! He needs to understand that I can't always be under his control."

Her brother merely waved his hand. "Then go. Have fun. Fight. Just remember that without any assistance, you're doomed to fail. That's just a little history lesson for ya, sis." He winked and walked off.

She tried to keep her composure as he left, but how could she? Was he really encouraging her to go through with this or was it a test? Thinking about it, he had always seemed a bit odd, and she had initially wanted to get along with him; but it had turned out differently. After much deliberation (5 minutes of thought) she went against her better judgment and decided to go through with it. She really had everything to lose, and everything to gain. Depending on how many more citizens she could get into her army, she could have a slim chance of winning, but maybe Siberia was right. She needed foreign recognition from somebody—_anybody_—to have a better chance at winning.

Despite not expecting anything, Erina went out to check the mailbox to look for a reply from America. Maybe today would be the day she got a reply. She opened it tentatively and stuck her hand in feeling around for an envelope. Unfortunately, her hand only touched the cold metal of the bottom of the mailbox. She closed the mailbox dejectedly and walked back inside.

"What were you looking for, aru?"

Erina's head whipped up at the sound. There stood China, leaning against the doorframe; arms crossed, and a disapproving frown on his face.

"Nothing…" she replied, fidgeting a bit.

"Are you sure you weren't looking for this, aru?" He pulled out a letter addressed to her from his shirt pocket. "Because I found this when I went to look through the mail this morning, aru." Erina bit her lip and tried not to react. She recognized the messy scrawl as America's handwriting. "Since this was from America," he continued. "I thought it had been misaddressed and was for me. However, it seems it was for you. Do you know what was in here, aru?"

"No…" she mumbled, though she secretly hoped that America had written to say that he would assist her.

China smiled pleasantly at her and held out the letter. "Why don't you read it, aru?"

For a moment, Erina was unsure if she was being tested; in all honesty, she thought she would get smacked with a bamboo stick if she did take the letter. However, when he offered the letter again, she took it from him and began to read it.

_CONFIDENNTIAL. FOR THE AMBASSADOR OF THE COLONY OF ERINA ONLY._

_Erina:_

_I got your letter. Let me say that it is not at all a burden for me to help you through this. I'm honored that you have enough faith in me to ask me for assistance. On the topic of China blocking your growth, I am here to assist you in anyway. Believe me when I say that I know what you're going through right now. It will be near impossible without more foreign recognition for him to grant you any independence. However, I will tell you that if worse comes to worse, you will need to be prepared to fight for your independence. If you don't want it, you're not going to be able to get it. Erina, I fully believe that you can achieve this, but my only concern is that your military is not big enough. I will send some troops over if you wish, but in the meantime, I will also try to get other countries to assist you._

_Best of luck to you, _

_The United States of America, Alfred F. Jones_

When she finished, Erina handed the letter back to China, looking down at her feet. She could feel him staring at her, waiting for an explanation. She looked up and saw a mixture of emotions on his face. China seemed almost…sad. Was she really been so important to him that this bid for independence was so hard on him?

China folded up the letter and placed it back in his pocket. He looked at her impassively with his mouth pressed into a thin line. He turned away and told her, "I'm sending in my military to keep an eye on you. I don't want to hear about any instances of rebellion. Do I make myself clear?"

Even though he couldn't see her, Erina nodded and replied quietly, "Yes, gēge."

China gave a small nod, before leaving the room. As soon as he did, she threw open the living room window and let the loudest scream she was capable of rip from her throat. How dare he! How _dare_ he! He was using military force to hold her country down! This was completely unacceptable, and something had to be done. "As they say, 'desperate times call for desperate measures,'" she muttered to herself. Erina picked herself up, grabbed her phone and headed outside. It was time to make a few calls. There was no more room to look over the little things that China did to keep her down anymore.

She needed a war.

Could she do it?

'_Of course I can'_ Erina told herself.

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**Faded: DID YOU LIKE IT? OH I HOPE YOU LIKED IT. sorry, i'm a tad hyper.**

**Riane: obviously. anyway, what about that contest...?**

**Faded: ah! right! in these last two chapters, i made references to 2 different things: a video game & a song. if you can spot the references & get them right, i'll write you a request of your choice.**

**Riane: the references are kinda obscure, but if you get the gist of it, she'll probably give it to you.**

**Faded: yea, probably. anyway, good luck & happy hunting! :)**

***please send your guess in a PM. thx. ~TFG  
**


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